Packing strip for bottles and the like



H. J. THOMPSON.

PACKING STRIP FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE; APPLICATION FILED APR. II. I92I.

1,404,071. Patented Jan. 17, 1922,

2 5HEETSSHEET 1- H. J. THOMPSON. PACKING STRIP FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11, 192i;

Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

2 $HEETSSHEET 2- 1Z1 Tfiompamamm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PACKING STRIP FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1'7, 1922.

Application filed April 11, 1921. Serial 10. 460,231.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY JAY THOMP- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and useful Packing Strip for Bottles and the like, of which the followingis specification.

This invention relates to packing strips especially adapted for protecting glass bottles stored in crates or other containers, one of the objects of the invention being to produce packing strips in the manner disclosed in Patent No. 1,234,418 issued to me on July 24:, 1917, the said packing strips being made of pulp so shaped as to provide numerous nodes upon their outer surfaces and a number of minute grooves or recesses on the inner or bottle engaging faces whereby the cushioning action of the packing strip is materially increased and the danger of breakage is reduced to the minimum.

A further object is to so construct the packing strips as to hold the bottles engaged thereby against longitudinal displace ment relative to the strips, thereby keeping the ends of the bottles out of contact with the crate walls.

lVith-the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a packing strip constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is'a section on line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4: is an elevation of the inner face of. a portion of one of the strips.

Figure 5 is an enlarged section through a portion of one of the strips and showing the nodes and recesses for increasing the cushioning action of the strips.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a strip of pulp preferably made as disclosed in my patent here inbefore mentioned, the strip being so proportioned as to fit snugly in a crate or other container and being formed with opposed series of depressions 2. Each depression has a wide substantially cylindrical portion 3 for receiving the bod portion of a bottle and a reduced substantially cylindrical portion 4 for receiving the neck of a bottle. A rib 5 is molded along the wall of the enlarged portion 3 close to the open end thereof and constitutes an abutment for the bottom of a bottle resting in the recess 3. This will be apparent by referring to Figure 2 wherein the bottle has been indicated by dotted lines at B.

It Will be noted that the strip 1 is formed with crossed grooves 6 in the recessed face thereof, these grooves forming small cushioning nodes between them for engagement with the surface of a bottle. These grooves can be produced in any manner desired. For example, in the formation of the strip, the mold on which the pulp is shaped can be made of wire netting and the impressions left in the molded object by this netting would be the grooves 6 herein referred to. v

The outer surface of the strip. 1 is very rough and irregular so as to present a multituzde of humps or projections as indicated at It is to be understood that the strips are to be duplicates of each other and are to be arranged in superposed relation, and in pairs, the strips of each pair being oppositely disposed. Thus bottles arranged in oppositely disposed series can be positioned in the recesses or depressions in the lowermost packing strips the necks of the bottles of one series extending between the bodies of the bottles of the opposed series. Another packing strip can then be placed over the bottles and the two strips will thus practically enclose all of the bottles, holding them properly spaced apart and out of contact with any outside structure. The bottles will be contacted by grooved faces of the packing strips and will be cushioned not only by the small nodes formed between the grooves 6 but also by reason of the fact that these grooves form air cells tending further to cushion the bottles. Additional strips can be nested on the lower pair of packing strips and can be arranged to house bottles therebetween, and as the superposed pairs of packing strips-will nestu-pon each other, it will be obvious that the bottles can be compactly packed within a orate. or the like and will be fully protected from breakage by the cushioningaction of the nodes between the grooves 6 and by the projections or humps 7 on the outer surfaces of the strips. The ribs 5 will of course prevent the bottles from pushingoutwardly through the open ends of the depressions 3 and there is therefore no danger of the bottles falling against'the sides of the crate and becoming broken by contact therewith.

The strip loan of course 'be'made' of any desired thickness in order to secure the desired cushioning action which, as before explained, is rendered more vefficient by the nodes between the grooves 6, by the air cells formed by said grooves, and by the humps or projections 7. 1

' What is claimed is:

1.'Packing for bottles and the'like comprising a strip of pulp having opposed series of bottle receiving depressions in one face thereof, the bottle engaging surfaces of the depressions being'forme d with crossed grooves providing bottle engaging nodes and 'air cells,'the outer surfaceof the strip being opened to present cushioning projections. V 2. Packing of the class described consist ing of a molded strip of pulphaving depressions in, one face arranged in o'ppositely'disposed series forreceiving opposed series of oppositely'arranged' bottlesfthe bottle en.- gaging surfaces of thestrip being provided with crossedgrooves to present bottle engageing nodes separated by air cells, there being a bottle retainingrib at an open end of each depression for engagement with the bottom of a bottle in the depression.

3. Apacking of the class described comprisinga molded strip of pulp having opposed bottle receiving recesses in one face, each recess comprising a neck receiving portion and a body receiving portion, the neck receiving portions of the recesses being ex tended between the body receiving portions of the adjacent recesses, a rib molded on the inner surface of each recess at the large open end of the body receiving portion thereof, said rib constituting bottle retaining means, there being a' plurality of crossed grooves in the bottle contacting surface of each recess forming bottle contacting nodes therebetween separated by air cells, the opposed surface of the strip being roughened to present cushioning projections.

' 4. A packing of the class described consisting of a thick molded strip of pulp having opposed series of depressions therein for receiving opposed seriesof bottles, each depression comprising a neck portion and a body portion, the neck portion of each depression extending between the body portions' of the adjacent depressions, the bottle 

